Hands up if you love bread. Most of us do, because what meal isn’t lifted by a bit of crusty loaf on the side?

In fact, try taking bread out of your daily diet completely and you’ll likely find it a lot harder than you imagined.

And yet, how many of us really know how to make it? Sure, some of us can rustle up a basic loaf following some recipe we found on the Internet.

But if it's anything like my efforts, it’s probably not the kind of thing you’d want to serve up to friends. Sound familiar?

So, when the chance came to attend a bread making class at the Lynda Booth Cookery School in Dublin, I couldn’t resist.

Lynda Booth

Lynda set up the school in a warehouse in Donnybrook in 2007 after spending years travelling the world, working with some of the best known chefs on the globe.

And thanks to the contacts she made then, her school also hosts many impressive guest chefs such as Nevin Maguire or Paul Flynn.

The school also offers a wide range of courses, catering for those who want to get into vegetarian food, to men who want to learn their way around the kitchen.

The showstopping Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread before it goes in the oven

It's also got a professional Three Month Certificate cookery course - the only type of its kind in Dublin and is widely recognised as a great way of acquiring the expertise and skills needed to pursue a career in food.

My wife and I decided to attend the baking masterclass as it’s something we’re both interested in.

The day started with a presentation from our tutor for the day, Richard Gleeson.

He outlined the schedule the day would take, and informed us we’d be making six different breads.

I’ll admit, it sounded daunting at first because the breads sounded complex but it was exciting to know that we’d be learning new things. This was a masterclass after all.

There were about 30 people in our class overall and it started at 9am.

The way the class is structured is very impressive.

Firstly, Richard gave a demonstration, outlining the steps in each recipe.

The class looks on as Richard Gleeson gives his presentation

He presented to us, almost as if he were a TV chef talking to camera, and we were the studio audience in front.

But the key to it all was the angled mirror hanging above his head, which showed us exactly what he was doing with his hands below on the table.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to this mirror, taking in as much as we could while listening to Richard describe each step.

It’s a very effective way of getting the information across and meant that we were well prepared for when we had to do it ourselves in the next room.

The demonstrations usually lasted about 30 minutes, then we’d spend the next 30 minutes, working in pairs, executing the steps.

The staff had helpfully laid out the measurements for flour, water, yeast, etc while the demo was ongoing so we could get straight into it each time.

Thankfully, if we got confused or missed something in the demonstration, the school had plenty of staff on hand to assist or answer any questions we had.

But what did we actually make? Well, as I said before, neither I or my wife are what you’d call experienced bakers, but we were blown away by what we came up with on the course.

We learned how to make a poolish - a yeast starter that is stored overnight ahead of a bake - to be used to make a basic white loaf.

We also used the same dough to create a caramelised onion baguette, which was absolutely delicious if we do say so ourselves.

We made a Pain Viennois, which is basically a soft roll baguette. Again, the kind of thing you’d find in your local bakers but wouldn’t have a clue how to make.

The Pain Viennois

Next up was out Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread, which was basically the showstopper of the day - a sweet, sticky dessert bread that would go great with some custard.

Ale house rolls were our next bake, ideal for some real butter and a bowl of soup.

And finally we made our multi seed brown yeast bread, which was amazing not only for its taste but also it’s simplicity. An easier bread you will not bake.

By creating all of these different types of bread we were given a solid grounding in the various skills of mixing, kneading, proving and baking.

It was impressive to see how varied we could make the bread, using just the simple ingredients of water, flour, salt and yeast, but we were also given the confidence to experiment by adding other ingredients such as caramelised onions, or dried walnuts. The choice is yours.

The day finished up with some lunch, while we waited for our creations to finish baking.

Then it was off home with a basket full of bread that you’d be only too happy to share with your friends and family.

By the end, we had a truly great day and yes, I have continued baking since.

Filling the house with a freshly baked bread smell over the weekend is class - so give it a go.

Lynda Booth’s Dublin Cookery School (Blackrock) professional Three Month Certificate cookery course offers students the opportunity to work in a professional kitchen by going on a ‘stage’ placement for a week to a top Dublin restaurant as well as participating in three of the school’s pop-up restaurant nights. As part of the course, students also enjoy field trips and get to meet Irish food producers, wine and cheese experts, food business advisors and gain their HACCP food safety qualification. For more information, please visit www.dublincookeryschool.ie